Yves Leccia

Yves
Leccia has a certain presence and noble bearing to him, much like his wines. In
France they have often been referred to as the “Rolls-Royce” of Corsican wines,
a reputation earned after nearly 30 years of making consistently elegant and
sophisticated wines.

Raised in a small village in the heart of Patrimonio, Yves worked alongside his father in the vines and cellar at the earliest age he could. The Leccias have been making wine from some of the finest terroirs of Patrimonio for countless generations, and there was never the least doubt in Yves’ mind that he would continue the tradition. Originally working alongside his sister, he decided to branch off on his own in 2004 and focus on the single terroir he felt was the top in Patrimonio. This terroir, “E Croce,” sits on a thin chalk soil above a thick bedrock of pure schist, facing the gulf of St. Florent. Yves is a firm believer in the idea that if you want something done right you need to do it yourself, and thus he tends to his vines alone and works the cellar by himself as well. He keeps his yields low, knows when to harvest, and knows how to let E Croce express itself in the wines. Not a single bottle comes out of the domaine that isn’t meticulously looked after from start to finish.

In Corsica, Yves is celebrated not only for his wines, but also for being a founding member of A Filetta, a legendary and proudly nationalistic Corsican polyphonic singing group. Spend some time with Yves and you won’t hear him boast or even talk much about his accomplishments. His name, Leccia, is Corsican for Oak. The name is ironic if you look at Yves’ wines, given that he’s never had his wine touch a single oak barrel and has never allowed wood to enter his cellar. The name is less ironic if you look at Yves himself, with his stoic manner and understated personality.

Kermit
touts the aging capacity of Yves’ reds. He opened a 1998 in 2010 that he still
talks about, comparing it to the best the south of France has to offer.

Technical Information

Wine

Blend

Vine Age

Soil Type

Vineyard Area*

I. G. P. Île de Beauté Blanc

70% Vermentinu, 30% Biancu Gentile

5 to 20 years

Clay, Limestone, Schist

4.35 ha

I.G.P. Île de Beauté “Biancu Marinu”

60% Muscat Petits Grains, 40% vermentinu

Muscat planted in 2006, Vermentinu planted in 2005

Clay, Limestone, Schist

1 ha Muscat, 4 ha Vermentinu

I. G. P. Île de Beauté Rouge

80% Grenache 20% Niellucciu

20 to 40 years

Clay, Limestone, Schist

7.1 ha

I. G. P. Île de Beauté Blanc “Biancu Gentile”

Biancu Gentile

5 years

Schist

1 ha

I. G. P. Île de Beauté Rosé

80% Niellucciu, 20% Sciaccarellu

20 to 40 years

Clay, Limestone, Schist

2.5 ha

I. G. P. Île de Beauté Rouge “O Ba!”

1/3 Minustellu, 1/3 Niellucciu, 1/3 Grenache

20 to 40 years

Clay, Limestone, Schist

7.1 ha

Patrimonio Blanc

Vermentinu

20 to 50 years

Clay, Limestone, Schist

3 ha

Patrimonio Rosé

80% Niellucciu, 20% Grenache

20 years

Clay, Limestone, Schist

4.6 ha

Patrimonio Rouge

90% Niellucciu, 10% Grenache

20 to 40 years

Clay, Limestone, Schist

7.1 ha

I.G.P Muscat Sec “Cuvée C281”

Muscat

Planted in 2005

Schist

.5 ha

* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• Since 2013, domaine is in a certified organic conversion with Ecocert. Full certification in 2016.
• All grapes are harvested by hand and sorted• Corsican spellings of grape varietals

White Wines:

•
After grapes are pressed, the must is cold soaked
for 24 hours before fermentation begins

•
Fermentation occurs in stainless steel cuves and
lasts 15 to 20 days depending on the vintage

• “Marinu” is the name of one of Yves’s sons. It is also a reference to the coast of Corsica near Patrimonio.

Patrimonio Rosé:

• Rosé is made from a 12-hour saignée
• Must is cold soaked for 24 hours before fermentation begins
• Fermentation occurs in stainless steel cuves and lasts 15 to 20 days depending on the vintage
• Rosé does not undergo malolactic fermentation
• Wines are aged in temperature controlled stainless steel cuves for 6 months

•
After sorting, all red grapes are de-stemmed, then
placed in stainless steel cuves

•
Fermentation lasts 12 to 15 days with daily
pump-overs

•
After fermentation, the grapes are pressed and the
wine is blended to taste

• Red wines are aged for 12 months

I. G. P. Île de Beauté Rouge “O Ba!”:
• O Bà means “Dad” in Corsican. This cuvée is an hommage to Yves’ father Pierre-Joseph Leccia, who taught him everything he knows and transmitted to him the knowledge of previous generations as well. The silhouette on the label is of Pierre-Joseph.

MISCELLANEA

Yves Leccia has devoted an enormous amount of time and resources over the past decade to the development of vineyards planted to massale selections of Corsican heirloom varieties. Many of these varieties were thought to be lost during the post-WWII years when Corsican viticulture was revamped to conform to what was at the time popular in the rest of France. One of the most fascinating discoveries by Yves was a small block of Biancu Gentile, an ancient variety native to Corsica, which for years was presumed to be extinct. Leccia has slowly nurtured these cuttings, and now has a producing vineyard planted on the rocky, schist soil of Patrimonio. Beginning with the 2010 vintage, the INAO authorities allow Biancu Gentile in IGP wines from Corsica, so they no longer need to be sold as Vin de Pays.